These bagels were made as part of the Fresh From The Oven Challenge for January 2012.

This month heralds a new era for the group in that the challenges are now out in the open rather than on a private blog and we don’t have to wait until the end of the month to reveal our wares.

This recipe is hosted on the Purely Food blog and you have until 28th of the month to GO MAKE BAGELS then post your results. I prefer this approach as we can all share our results as we bake them, plus it should encourage more people to wade in and have a go.

The only changes I made to the original recipe were:

I added 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon of bicarb of soda to the poaching water

I baked half of them on baking parchment sprinkled with polenta, which worked a treat

I let them prove longer in their shaped state as this helps fill out the shape

Made the holes 3 times bigger than they should be as they close up…lots

I have made bagels before and posted them here and once you have got your head around the fact that there is just one extra step of boiling them for 2 minutes before baking they are quite simple, and more importantly most delicious.

If you feel like joining our monthly adventures with bread, head over to Purely Food and get baking.

Thank you for taking part so quick! They look great too. Thank you for the additional tips as well. I’ve seen sugar, treacle etc added to the poaching water before but never bicarb, will try that next time.

I just discovered your blog via Sally at My Custard Pie and so glad that I did! Your bagels look incredible and I’ve just lost about half an hour browsing through your gorgeous recipes…I’ll definitely be back, what a wonderful space you’ve created here🙂

I need an Ed!! You are a lucky girl. Beautiful overhead shot of those gorgeous bagels! I’m hooked on Cheddar Jalapeno bagels. I use Peter Reinhart’s recipe (Bread Baker’s Apprentice) and knead in pickled jalapenos and sharp cheddar.